Israel keep Schum

Yitzahk Schum will continue as Israel coach Richard Møller Nielsen's assistant for another two years following discussions with the Israel Football Association (IFA).

Pressure to step down
Schum, who has been part of the national team set-up for ten years and is currently coaching second division leaders Hapoel Kfar Sava, had been under pressure to step down given his club commitments.

Talks with IFA chairman
However, following talks between IFA chairman Gavri Levy and Schum over the weekend, it was announced yesterday that Schum would stay on as Møller Nielsen's no2 but must step down as Kfar Sava coach if, as expected, they win promotion back to the Premier League. However, he will be allowed to coach another second division outfit.

'Best ever no2'
Levy, and his deputy Gidon Brikman will forward their recommendation to the IFA's secretariat for official approval. "It wouldn't have made sense for Schum to coach a club in the top flight and remain Møller Nielsen's assistant," Levy said. "Most players in the squad are called up from this division and we didn't want to cause an uncomfortable situation." Møller Nielsen has described Schum as his "best ever no2".

Practice match
Also yesterday, the full Israel side recorded a narrow victory over the Under-21s in a practice match which replaced the cancelled matches against Lithuania and Russia respectively. Kfar Sava's Alon Mizrahi scored the only goal of the game in the 65th minute, although the match was marred by an angry exchange between Maccabi Tel-Aviv central defender Tal Ben Haim and Maccabi Haifa's Walid Badier, which ended with the latter's substitution by Møller Nielsen.

'Very competitive'
"I didn't see who started it all but, things like that happen in football," said the coach. "It proves the players are very competitive."